“...like the flying of bullets from the mouths of great ordnance...”
- Hatford, England, *1628
Hraschina, Croatia, *1751
The Hraschina meteorite is interesting in a number of ways. It was the earliest observed fall in what is now Croatia. It was also the first iron meteorite which was witnessed to fall to earth. Analysis due to heating lead to the discovery of...
Aegospotami, Greece, *465 BC
One of the earliest falls of which I’ve been able to find any surviving accounts, the meteorite at Aegospotami fell around 465 BC. Exact dating is difficult, due to uncertainty caused by multiple dating systems at the time. Read a full...
Hoba, Namibia, 1920
The Hoba meteorite is the largest example known anywhere on the planet. For a full report, I’ve transcribed a historical account here.
Barea, Spain, *1842
Barea fell in the La Rioja region of Spain in 1842. It is an incredibly rare meteorite – only 3,200g were recovered, and at least 1,800g are resident in institutions. In addition, it is one of only 6 meteorites classified as...
Tennasilm, Estonia, *1872
Tennasilm is an L4 chondrite, which was seen to fall over Estonia in 1872. Around 28,5kg of material was recovered. This lovely part slice weights 1.92g.
Shalka, India, *1850
Shalka fell in West Bengal, India, in 1840. A rare diogenite, only 4,000g of the meteorite were recovered. The material is extremely friable. This piece weights 0.93g and descends from the Prof. Martin Horejsi collection.
Tunguska, Russia, *1908
Tunguska today. Photo credit: Hu9423/WikiCommons The Tunguska Event is one of the most mysterious and astonishing happenings of recent times. For a full report, check out my article...
Rocks In My Head
I recently told a friend how I sometimes stand in my garden at night, gazing up at the moon while holding a piece of it in my hand. She looked at me sideways, probably wondering if I’d been enjoying a different kind of moonshine. This scene...
Dundrum, Ireland, *1865
Dundrum is a remarkably rare and difficult specimen to acquire. The total known weight of this stone, which fell in Munster in 1865, is only 2,270g. About 1,700g is in the Museum in Dublin, with another 400g in the NHM, London. It is estimated...
Alborow, England, *1642
Alborow (or, as the town is now spelt, Aldeburgh) was reputed to be the location of a fallen meteorite in 1642, at the outbreak of the English Civil War. An account is extant produced by one T Fawcet, and published in London. Here is his...
Birki, Turkey, *1325?
According to the Islamic traveller and explorer Ibn Batuta, a meteorite was reported to have fallen near the historical city of Birki in Turkey, some time before 1325. Here is an account of his meeting with the local King, and the meteorite...
Hatford, England, *1628
Hatford is the earliest British fall of which I’ve been able to find any record. It fell near Oxford on a sunny day in April, about 5 o’clock in the afternoon. There are two surviving accounts of the fall. The language is quite...
Jalandhar, India, *1621
Jalandhar is a witnessed fall from the Punjab, India in 1621. I’m not aware that any of the original material survives, although some of this iron meteorite was broken up, smelted, and used in the creation of swords and daggers. Here are...
Ensisheim, France, *1492
Ensisheim is one of the most famous historic falls, as well as being one of the earliest. It fell in Alsace, in what is now France, on the 13th November 1492 – the same year Columbus set sail for the Americas. My specimen is a 0.29g part...
Tjabe, Indonesia, *1869
Tjabe is one of only 16 recorded falls from Indonesia. It fell on the 19th September, 1869, near Rembang, East Java. It’s an H6 chondrite. The total weight is about 20kg, of which this little end cut represents 1.72g.
L’Aigle, France, *1803
L’Aigle is one of the most famous metorites in history. On April 26th, in the Basse-Normandie area of France, a shower of 3,ooo or so stones descended in front of numerous witnesses. This was recorded and picked up by 18th century...
Jonzac, France, *1819
Jonzac is a beautiful monomict eucrite which fell in the Poitou-Charentes region of France in 1819. Only 5,000g was recovered. This lovely part slice weighs in at 0.91g.
Hessle, Sweden, *1869
Hessle fell to earth in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1869. Recovered material weighed around 20kg. This 0.78g part slice originated from Russ Kempton and the NEMS.
Diep River, South Africa, *1906
Diep River fell in Western Cape in South Africa, knocking a hole through a farm roof in the process. A small stone weighing only 1,000g was recovered. This nice part slice weighs 0.51g
Aumale, Algeria, *1865
A nice, early African witnessed fall, Aumale fell in the Bouira region of Algeria in 1865. The total known weight is about 50kg, this part slice is 1.48g.
Historic Falls
Hraschina, Croatia, *1751
Meteorites are some of the most entrancing, rare, and fascinating objects on the planet. If you hold an meteorite, you will never have touched anything more ancient. It is older than the ground you stand on. Some meteorites contain material older even than the sun and the solar system.
It’s possible to stand in the dark and look at the moon, with a piece of moonstone in your hand. Or Mars, with a fragment of the red planet in your other.
In the history of mankind, something like 30,000 tonnes of gold have been mined. Perhaps 1,000 tonnes of diamond have been extracted. But the total weight of all the recovered meteorites on the planet is only about 700 tonnes – and 60 tonnes of that is still sitting where it landed, in Hoba, Namibia.
Almost all we know about meteorites has been discovered in the last 200 years. This site is about the men and women who witnessed them, their testimonies, and the stories of these remarkable rocks themselves.
20th
ALH84001
Historic meteorites in the 20th century? Sure. They may not be historic in terms of their age, but many have booked a place in the history books.
The Nakhla impact (Egypt, *1911), for instance. Not only was it alleged to have struck and killed a dog, it was subsequently discovered that it originated from an impact on the planet Mars. Indeed, a whole class of meteorites (Nahklites) are named after it.
Allende (Mexico, *1969) is still by far the largest recorded fall of carbonaceous material. It was used as test specimens for the NASA moon rock receiving labs.
ALH84001 – the “proof” of life on Mars, was recovered in Antarctica in 1984. Some ten years later, researchers claimed they had found evidence of fossilised Martian microbes trapped in the meteorite. The jury is still out.
Recently Added Meteorites
